The Mother of all Presidents

Donald Trump has become a dominant figure and glossy symbol of what America has become in these unstable times. He speaks in absolute terms which raises the ticklish passions of those who choose to believe him.

Mr. Trump’s innate ability to turn 180 degrees in the snap of a finger on previously rock solid opinions beguiles and dazzles a gullible section of the public much like a Vegas stage magician performing in front of an out of town audience. Once in the spell, they are willing to dance wherever he leads while condemning anyone who refuses to swallow the miasma.

Yet, those with a sense of history know full well where a cult of personality can end up. In spite of this, almost 40% of us are going for it. Particularly the huge bombs. They are cool. People like huge bombs. Makes them feel potent.

I am not saying that the Afghani tunnel bombing was not tactically the right thing to do. The elaborate tunnel networks in that part of Afghanistan are as intense as anything experienced by my brothers in Viet Nam. In Nam the tunnels had to be cleared by personnel, by troops, not by a mega bomb parachuted down from thousands of feet in the air. I am sure that the troops who were facing this dangerous task in Afghanistan and the locals who were besieged by the Taliban who used the tunnels felt pretty good about it.

The President had to feel good about it as well. Since the missile strikes in Syria and the bombing in Afghanistan his poll numbers jumped out of the 30% range to above 40% for the first time in weeks. The Russian cyber attack investigation retreated from the headlines at the time that Rep. Nunes recused himself from the Chairmanship of the House Intelligence Committee investigation and it was all bomb news for the 24 hours cycle.

And why not? During the campaign in reference to ISIS, Donald Trump repeatedly said these exact words to his adoring crowds; “I will bomb the shit out of them.“ This resulted in Donald Trump being the first candidate in history that had to be bleeped on mainstream television media. Whenever he said this, and he said it often, the gathered crowds, which included children, would go flag waving wild. What fun !!!

It was a jolt of satisfaction to consider putting Hillary in jail, but the bomb idea was much better. The Trump crowds just loved the thought that someone in the White House was finally going to start blowing those ISIS people away, even though they did not fully understand who they were, why they were so powerful and how effective previous American tactics had been while using far less bravado.

In fact, during the entire campaign, I do not recall Mr. Trump ever saying the word “peace.” Perhaps he did and I missed it in all of the anger and hatred but peace was certainly not his stated agenda. I do not recall Mr. Trump speaking of the future or reaching universal accord or any sense of a united purpose between the people of the world. His riff was about how dangerous others were, how invasive they were, and how threatened we are. He spoke of harsh measures and going backward. He main credo became the phrase “bomb the shit out of them” and it changed to a promise. His followers expected him to fulfill it and this was one promise he could not back out of.

However, while we are all distracted by the big bombs, the stock market, which had seen a Trump bump since the election has started to realize that all the promises Mr. Trump made during the election either will not happen or that Mr. Trump may change his mind entirely. Therefore the numbers are starting to turn. Gas prices are raising and our health care is being held hostage by the President who said he may not release payments to insurance companies if Democrats do not come to heel. Oh yes, there is the looming government shut down, but more about that in a future blog piece.

For instance environmental regulations on toxic pollution are being relaxed while reestablishing severe laws against recreational use of marijuana are being considered. In fact, the disastrous war on drugs is being touted as the way to stop an exploding opioid overdoes problem, when it is the war on drugs that is actually causing it. This is the type of swaggering, butt-backwards agenda that Mr. Trump has brought with him to the White House …… whenever he is there that is. It is reported that President Trump’s frequent golf vacations have nearly cost as much as Mr. Obama’s vacations cost during his entire 8 years in office, yet the fiscal conservatives love President Trump. Go figure.

I did not agree with all of Mr. Obama’s polices during his administration. There were disappointments in what was promised and what was delivered. However, Mr. Obama could be counted on to seek rational answers to difficult issues and that he would be right on top of it all the time. President Obama was burdened by a do-nothing, block everything neocon congress during most of his administration. He had no Mar-a-Lago to retreat to and, even though Republicans moaned about it constantly, President Obama’s golf game did not dominate his calendar.

Mr. Obama may have failed at creating a more equal society, but it can not be said that he did not try. His presence at the head of our body politic told the world that we may be struggling with many issues in America but that our leader was trying to pull us together, not drive us apart.

Mr. Obama used the word “peace” often. As I say, I am still waiting to hear it being uttered by Mr. Trump, who at this point in his term of office, seems more intent on becoming the Mother of all Presidents than the man who sought harmony in a troubled world.